The charity found George while collecting other animals in Glasgow.

Ms Henriquez said: “He is exactly how we remember him. He’s friendly and gentle, and so relaxed at home.

“Our elder child remembered him from when he lived here but our younger son had only heard of poor George that went missing so they were both thrilled and have been fussing over him ever since.”

Fran and Billy put up posters when George disappeared in 2016 and asked neighbours to keep a look out. They also searched nearby rural areas.

Fran recalled: “He was a cat that could go outside, but he would always be home for breakfast, no matter what. So when he didn’t appear we knew something wasn’t right.

“We had a few red herrings of people saying they had seen him but it was another cat – eventually we assumed something must have happened to him and we felt he couldn’t be alive.”

The Scottish SPCA said the discovery showed the importance of microchipping animals, as it campaigns for compulsory cat chipping to be implemented in Scotland.

Fran, meanwhile, is just enjoying spending time with her pet once again.

She added: “It’s a bit bittersweet as he is now an elderly cat and we have missed most of his life.

“But hopefully we can give him a really nice retirement.”